October 2009
I see that in the HJ column of the DT there's a query about turning off daytime running lights on a Golf. In his reply HJ states that these "do not dazzle".
I call cobblers on that. Driving into Brussels this AM, there was a light to medium mist. The number of VAG vehicles relying on their "daytime" lights was quite scary. Presumably their drivers have got the lights set to "auto" and are too dumb to override this when conditions demand, i.e. when in misty conditions with a sky just bright enough to trip the light sensor. Very dumb indeed in mist since these daytime lights don't have rear counterparts - a massive oversight IMHO. The conditions were sufficiently misty to make it very obvious that rear lights were a "must", rendering those vehicles with them off invisible at range.
What was very noticable was how the "daytime" LED lights (designed to be easily visible in bright sunlight) appeared considerably brighter than the headlights/foglights on other vehicles (which are designed to not dazzle at night), bearing a strong similarity to main beams from the POV of the poor prune in front (me in this case). I eventually had to resort to the dipping mirror after having my eyeballs roasted for the umpteenth time by one of these idiots running up behind.
I am now firmly of the opinion that these things are more trouble than they're worth. Read more
Hi all.. Advice gratefully received for the following question....
Changed the front brakes on my Octavia 1.9 Tdi today, but after bleeding the system the brake pedal can be pushed to the floor when the engine is running... With the engine off the pedal has a little more resistance, but can still be pushed all the way down... Servo sounds like it's sucking air when I pump the pedal... Brakes were okay before apart from wearing down... Any solutions??? Thanking you all in advance..:) Read more
marina with disc brakes and then realised the caliper was for the wrong side and so couldnt get the air out
I had exactly the same with a Marina disc brake conversion on a Minor which had been done by a friend. After assembling the conversion, he couldn't get a good pedal, and he asked me to have a look at it. I have to confess it took me an embarassingly long time before the coin fell, and I registered that the two bleed nipples were pointing downwards! D'oh!
My son has a problem with the brakes on a Citroen C3. They were dragging and overheating on a run. He has replaced the front discs and pads. After adjusting the rear shoes the brakes were still dragging so he attempted to bleed the system by pressurising the master cylinder but could not get any fluid out of the bleed nipples, front or back. Bear in mind I am passing this info on, but I can get more if required. Thanks for any help in anticipation. Read more
I don't think you will have a master cylinder problem on such a new car unless you have flipped the seals when the pedal may have been pushed when the pistons were back.
You could remove the master while the pipes are still connected pull back just to see if fluid is passing out of the front seal.
I still think this is a basic problem not abs releated.
Right here goes:
I bought a car from a dealer on 14/10/2006 it was a mere 2.5 years old. I signed the paperwork for the V5 (which I never personally received after). The car had 12 months tax - becomes important.
At this time I had two cars including the new one. The old one had to be scrapped which it was a couple of weeks later. The company doing this asked my mum for some more paper work (I was only 19 still at home student) of which she gave them. Now she gave them the documents for both cars instead of just the old one. I never had the new one in my hand ever or saw it. This lead to (on paper anyway) both cars being issued a destruction certificate (crushed/cubed). However my new car has never been cubed but my old car had been.
The problem did not come to my attention until the tax ran out and I needed to re-tax. The police stopped me - but were ok and made me aware of the problem and let me carry on. The garage where I bought seemed to be rude and defensive and my mum contacted the scrap yard with no luck.
Over the past 2 years (from when tax ran out - as were unaware of the problem till then) we have sent several letters to the DVLA with little luck.
Finally, this month the vehicle was inspected and VIN numbers checked at the Nottingham office. I rang on the 26/10/09 to check progress they said it passed V5 on way shortly, after having an argument with another DVLA member.
However, today I get a call from the guy dealing with it saying the vehicle has been flooded and is in bad condition and therefore unroad worthy, I will not be getting my V5. I must say this car has never ever been flooded and is absolute nonsense! He said he was just referring to the report given. I believe this has been said due to my argument with a college.
Therefore, I had the inspection officer contact me who said the car was not flooded but it possibly could have been but the reason the car was not allowed a V5 was because it has taken 3 years to get this 'sorted'. Now I explained that wasn?t what I was told and she said she could so nothing because a certificate of destruction was issued??? Conflicting stories!
I must point out it was apparently flooded whilst in my possession. But if this was the case I would have an insurance claim (which I never have had and I am fully comp).
I have just come off the phone to them, initially they said when it was inspected it was flooded (but she only checked VIN numbers nothing else which I would assume be needed to test flooding as there were no signs). When I asked the guy and questioned it they changed their mind to it being flooded hence why it was scrapped back in 2006 ? which never happened hence why I have the car! Now they are saying it has taken too long to sort out to issue V5, so one thing after another not to issue the log book. But I say again if the car were flooded I would have claimed on the insurance only being 2.5 years old and worth £6-7k.
Needless to say I am waiting to hear back, what can I do?
Basically: Mum scrapped my car - not licensed to do so. But fault lays with scrap yard surely?
How do I get V5?
The scrap yard should match vehicles to V5 (reg doc) before scrapping which they did not do? Are they responsible for the error and it?s court action I need to take?
I am really needing to sell car and need sound expert advice?
Many Thanks For Your Time
James Street
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Can a car be MOT'd these (computerised) days if it doesn't exist on the DVLA database?
OP: Go to your local MP's next surgery and set them onto the DVLA.
My Mazda 6 is a really good car but the change from 1st to 2nd is giving me concern being obstructive if engine revs are below 3000 I have noticed that on changing gear at this engine speed the revs actually increase a bit before falling so stressing the synchro possibly!! First gear is noisy compared to the others so would appreciate other owners feedback on this subject. Have thought about an oil change but dont know whether this box has a drainplug and sofar I have not removed the bottom engine cover to investigate further. Read more
My Mazda issues with baulking 1st/2nd and getting into reverse were found to be synchromesh and gear wheels - it was warranty when almost new.
Garage originally said it was common fault /characteristic but same hire car was perfect so I continued to want it resolved - changes of gearbox oil/played with selector rods etc they then stripped the gearbox and found the fault.
Hi,
I'm on the verge of buying a 2002 Jeep Cherokee 4.7 V8 overland that has had an LPG conversion and need some advice. I need a bigger car as I have a kid on the way and as I can't really afford an X3 or X5 at the moment and I really can't stand estates, this seems like a good option as a luxury cruiser with good spec and reasonable MPG / price.
My knowledge of LPG conversions is pretty limited....I know that a multi-point sequential is essential for this model (which it has) and I'll need to use a flashlube but that's about it!
What do I need to ask / look out for when buying and would I maybe be wiser to get something like a Saab estate (however boring) as they seem to be the best thing available for around £5 - £6k? I will soon find out who fitted the LPG system, what type t is and all that and will base my decision on this.
Any experiences / knowledge would be appreciated cos the last thing I want is to be driving a new born around in something dangerous or unreliable!
Thanks,
Aliray
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Another good idea would be to check for a local Romano service agent with a good reputation before deciding. LPG has it's fair share of cowboys like any other industry.
Prins have a very good reputation for their LPG kits but they are more expensive than others.
www.prinsautogasuk.co.uk/
Most LPG kits originate from Italy, AEB being behind several brands -
www.aeb.it/products
A proper well spec'd and setup LPG should be no different to driving using petrol (except lower emissions), on the other hand a bad one is an expensive pain in the neck.
Hope that helps.
Steve.
Hi hope this is the right section first of all my cars a fiesta flight 1.3l enduru-e engine.
The problem i am having with the car is that it will idle fine and if the acceleration from idle is smooth it will accelerate smoothly. The problem starts when you accelerate to briskly it misfires on one of the cylinders. This also happens in the top end of the power range for example going from 50-60mph in 5th gear it causes alot of juddering as you can feel it misfire. The engine has also lost alot of its power for example theres a steep hill near to where i live and normally it will just about do it in 3rd gear but last night i had to go up it in first so something is not right there. It also has less torque over the whole power band from when i bought it. I bought in January with 49000 miles and its now done 64500 miles so its done a few miles in quite a short time but its been serviced properly .
Also I have replaced the usual suspects such as spark plugs, HT leads, Fuel Filter, Air Filter and they have all made slight improvements but overall the engine juddering which i presume is a misfire is still there. You can hear the engine tappets rattling but i have been advised that they wouldn't be the cause of the engine juddering/misfire and the problem lies elsewhere. Another anomaly is that I had a diagnostics run on it and on the two separate machines that where used said there where no error codes but the engine management light is on. The engine management light has been on for the last 3000 miles with apparent ill affect until this juddering started about 1000 miles ago.
If there's any common problems that happen to theses cars at this age/mileage it would be good to know but any help or advice on the matter would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks for your help in advance Jack
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To what clearance did you gap the spark plugs?
I have heard that Idle Control Valves are a common fault on this engine however the usual sympton is high reving on tick over as opposed to juddering.
Have you had the coil pack checked?
Anybody know whether these angines have EGR valves?
I've just picked up a 3 year old used car from a main dealership. It was advertised with only 13.5k on the clock.
A few days after viewing it I agreed over the phone to go ahead with the purchase, and was sent an invoice by the dealership to sign and return. The invoice clearly states that the mileage of the car that they are selling to me is 13.5k miles.
After I picked up the car and was driving home, I noticed that it actually had done 22k.
Do I have any rights in this situation? Basically I think I have been deceived, and am not happy. I did take the car for a test drive, however I didn't inspect the mileage at the time. I haven't spoken to the dealer yet - I want to know where I stand first.
Cheers. Read more
Push for cash. The attitude "it's numbers, everyone makes mistakes with numbers, I don't like maffs" seems to apply to everything nowadays and it's not acceptable.
How would you feel if the pilot of your aeroplane came on the PA and announced that they'd only taken on 13 tonnes of fuel instead of 22, but it's a simple mistake that they've made lots of times before because there are plenty of planes out on the apron and they're nearly all white?
Making a mistake once is completely acceptable - making it repeatedly screams incompetence. Why didn't the OP check the mileage? Dunno. Not her fault. Lots of exciting things happening during a test drive. Maybe the dealer was pushing her for time, in an unfamiliar car in an unknown area. Doesn't excuse the mistake on their part. How hard is it to wander out to the forecourt and doublecheck the reg and mileage before posting the ad?
I have a 2003 clk coupe and the nr side door mirror indicator lense has cracked.
I have bought a replacement from my local dealer who told me its easy to for you just pop the mirror out and its held in by a couple of retaing screws,
I have had a look but cant see how to "pop" the mirror out / get acess to change the lense. ???
Any help really appreciated especially if given in idiot fool proof mode.
many thanks Read more
Copied from MB Club UK:
1. Fold the mirror in.
2. Use a torch to locate the retaining clip that holds the outer case.
3. lever the clip over while pulling the casing off
4. Unscrew the indicator lens from the housing.
How long does it take for a good (?) battery to go flat - I didn't use my 06 Nissan X Trail (3+ years old) for just under a month, and while the battery wasn't quite flat it wouldn't turn the engine over - nothing left on - is this normal - or do I have a problem? Read more
If the battery is three years old (possibily coming up to four years since it was made and first fitted) then it will almost certainly be past its best but still perfectly servicable. If you are leaving the vehicle standing for almost a month at a time then I am not surprised it is struggling to hold enough charge to start the vehicle.
You have two choices - the first and most obvious is to use or start the vehicle more frequently, possibly every couple of weeks at the least and let it run for at least 10 minutes. The second is to buy a new battery of the biggest capacity that you can get and stick that on and risk that from month to month.
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The marketing section has infiltrated the design department. All the marketroids previously worked as hairdressers.